Bison137
Professor
Posts: 16147
Reg: 01-23-06
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04-05-07 01:26 AM - Post#34307
In response to KenZ
I'm mostly in agreement on Boon and O'Brien, although I think it may be hard for Boon to earn significant minutes in November due to the complexity of Pat's system. What could be interesting is if he plays well enough to earn consideration as a starter in January. Given Pat's loyalty to his starters (e.g. waiting so long to make Mastro the 6th man this year), how long would it take him to move JV to the 6th man role?
I think the situation is more wide open in the case of Shazier, and a lot will depend on whether his defense is as good as the high school writers/coaches think it is. When the Bison get to league play, they will face two teams with small, lightning fast PG's who are also very good - Marquis Hall (listed at 5'11" but maybe shorter) and Dereck Mercer (5'8") - plus a third who is almost as quick - 5'10" Marcus Nelson of Army. When the Bison are playing man, who is going to guard these super-quick guys? Griffin sometimes drew that assignment this past season when Abe guarded the shooter, but it's not an easy job for Griffin (or for Castleberry). Tyree might do the best job, but he's better suited for shutting down a bigger scoring guard, and at his height it's asking a lot to contain one of these super-fast guards. Thus Shazier might get a chance in certain situations if he's learned the defense well enough by mid-January.
Using Shazier to guard these super-quick, small players would be even more likely if/when American and/or Lehigh opt to go with two smurfs at a time. In addition to Mercer, American also has Garrison Carr, who is a good outside shooter and is no more than 5'10". Similarly, Lehigh has supposedly landed a 5'8" combo guard from NYC (Prentice Small) who could conceivably see some time in tandem with Hall if he plays well. This is at least a possibility since LU lost Olivero and Neptune, their main wing players. If LU or AU go with two short,lightning-fast guards, I think the Bison on occasion may have to either go mostly zone or else have Shazier guard one of them.
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